Pet Adoption Organization Goes Hi-Tech

For feline lovers of all ages, Bideawee, Inc., the leading pet adoption and animal welfare organization serving Long Island and New York metropolitan area communities, has gone high tech.

Starting this month, visitors simply log onto http://www.bideawee.org/kittyplaydate to enter the cat robotic online playroom and participate in a “Kitty Play Date.” With the use of a remote control on the site, you can move one of three cat toys in the playroom and encourage your purring friends to swing, push, grab and paw at whim. Bideawee is the first organization on the East Coast to offer this unique program.

“In our fast paced and 24/7 world, this technology allows browsers to log on and cue up at any hour of the day or night and truly feel connected with these cats who need attention, love and a new home,” says Nancy Taylor, Bideawee President and CEO. “The cats are stimulated to play and the people feel an integral part of the whole process. This kind of virtual companionship may lead us into an unchartered and exciting territory of online motivation and behavior. Much like people, pets benefit from this virtual connectedness too.”

How does the real-time program work? “A signal is relayed through multiple hubs throughout the U.S – and possibly the world depending on the users location – that allows for thousands of users to simultaneously watch the cats and request a place in line to play,” says Scott Harris, director of business development from Apriori Control, the Idaho-based company that developed the software.

Now all the cats need is some human (and humane) attention. They are ready and willing to be engaged in play. As for the people – you’ll have to take your place in this very popular and virtual cue.